Welcome Back
by writing about stuff
Summary: Chief Lin Beifong wasn't always the responsible woman as people see her as. People make mistakes when they're young. It just so happens that this certain mistake is coming back to bite her in the ass. Set right after Book 3.
1. Chapter 1

Chief Lin Beifong unwillingly threw herself out of her comfortable bed and stretched her limbs until she felt a satisfying pop. She sighed and rested her arms at her sides. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon but this was a regular routine for the woman. Wake up bright and early, get a little exercise in, shower, eat breakfast, get dressed and go to work. A little something she picked up from her legendary mother.

Without wasting another second, Lin was down on the floor and warming herself up by push-ups. She might've been fifty-something years old with silver locks by her years on the force but that didn't mean she didn't want to keep herself in shape. Being a cop meant that she had to keep herself healthy and because she was aging, she had to double up on every health precaution she was doing. Another thing she learned from Toph.

After a set of fifty push-ups and sit-ups, Lin was already throwing on some shoes for a five mile run. Most people would think she was crazy if they saw her this early in the morning running through the city in the bitter cold.

But let them think what they want. It was her health and she didn't care what opinion people had on the subject. Though the people of Republic City had to have been used to seeing their own chief of police running on the sidewalks early in the morning. She looked forward to her daily runs. They were used to clear her head and rid her thoughts on stressful things like work, keeping this city safe, the recovering Avatar.

Lin turned a corner and sped up her pace and pumped her arms and legs harder.

X

"Chief Beifong?"

Said woman lifted her head from the numerous files that were scattered on her desk. Many of the papers were left unread while the ones that were read were neatly stacked in a metal wired basket.

Standing in the door way was one of her deputies with the president of Republic City. Lin straightened her back in curiosity and settled the file on her desk and clasped her hands together. "President Raiko," Lin greeted with a nod of her head. She dismissed the standing officer with a wave of her hand and started to organize the papers. The president pulled up a lone chair and situated himself in front of her desk.

"What can I help you with?" Lin asked.

"Actually, Miss Beifong, I'm not the one who needs your help. It's someone who might be very important to you."

At that Lin raised an eyebrow and asked the man for further explanation.

X

"This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening." That became Lin's new mantra when the president left her office and left her alone with her thoughts. She didn't have time for this new situation when plenty of other problems still haven't been resolved! First the vines have tangled themselves around half the city, the Avatar herself is still in critical condition, crime rates have gone up to an all-time high, there's been threats of new dangerous gangs and now she has to deal with this? She is already responsible for the lives of the people in her city and she doesn't need one more person to look after!

The sudden ringing coming from the clock on her wall that signaled that her shift was over brought Lin back to reality. The chief groaned and shoved the unread papers into her desk drawer and headed for the door. Some officers nodded at her when and if they passed her through the hallways to which she absent mindedly ignored.

An aching throb sent large, painful tidal waves throughout Lin's skull and she clenched her eyes shut and kept walking. The swelling in her head kept growing and growing almost like it was mocking her for the slow but sure process of her failure.

She was losing the once beautiful image of Republic City and now it was turning into a criminal infested, vine covered dump with little to no decent people remaining.

The chief opened her eyes when she reached the front doors of the police department. Lin pushed the lobby doors open and walked onto the cracked pavement of the sidewalks. She sighed and rubbed her head with her one hand while letting her mind wonder off into oblivion. She knew this was one of her responsibilities. Not as the chief of police, but as a human being. Lin wasn't one to just up and run from her mistakes but the timing couldn't have been worse.

Despite living so close to the station Lin nearly passed her apartment when her mind was so crowded with her responsibilities. She stopped dead at her tracks as she made a sharp turn to her apartment and walked into the building. She walked up the familiar steps to her decent sized apartment and passed some of her neighbor's doors. Though it was very late in the night Lin made no effort in making her footsteps light. Instead, she allowed her feet to stomp onto the wooden floors until she reached her own door.

Upon opening her door she sighed at the relief of being home and had already started to shed her armor off when she stepped in and shut the door. Stacks of mail and letters sat on her dinner table as well as some dirty dishes that she didn't get to wash before leaving for work. She made a note to get those clean in the morning. Lin would've done it right away but she was just too damn tired.

Once Lin was finally free of her uniform, she made a b-line to the only bathroom and started up a hot shower. She didn't expect that a simple wash would make all her problems go away but it would certainly help get rid of the strain in her muscles.

It was hard. She hated to admit it but it was true. Difficult times just made every single thing harder but it certainly wasn't a surprise. All she could do was take it head on and make her own path.


	2. Chapter 2

Lin took the next day off to try to relax herself. _This is going to be fine. Everything is going to be perfectly fine._ Lin told herself. Despite the gnawing feeling of anxiety nipping at the back of her head, she managed to steady her hand from its tapping as she neared a cup of her favorite tea to her lips and took a sip. The hot beverage eased her nerves somewhat but Lin still had to take a shaky breath to calm her ragging heartbeat.

The esteemed chief of police huffed and tapped the heel of her foot against her wooden floors under her chair. Her pale hands apprehensively rubbed each other until she snapped at herself to stop. Despite the calming atmosphere of Lin's apartment and the reassuring silence, she still went back to her self-irritating actions of tapping every untouched surface of her dining table. She growled like an animal and stood from her chair and marched to her bathroom.

Lin ceased the opportunity to scan her hallway and the very few photos she had hanging on the walls. Many were taken a few years back but most were from her early twenties or late teens. All were from decent times, happy even, but they were long gone. She was entering a new time that she's been avoiding for over a decade.

Taking a sharp turn when she reached the destined door, Lin reached for the sink and let the cold water flow. She allowed her hands to rest and be bathed in the cool, calming feeling. Eventually she raised her hands in a lighting motion and splashed her face repeatedly until her white tank top was sopping wet and clinging to her chest and stomach. Lin breathed in and out and kept her eyes shut and felt the slow steadiness of the water droplets streaming down her face and puddle onto her chest.

"Get a hold of yourself, Lin." She said out loud.

She imagined what her mother would say- or do –if she saw her like the heaping, hot mess she currently was.

"_Jeeze, bagdermole, I would've thought you were having a heart attack! Did someone die?"_

She imagined that would be Toph's first reaction to her rapid heartbeat and irregular breathing patterns. Lin knew her mother would be her usual teasing self if she was here at the moment but she would also tell the chief to "suck it up and take it like a Beifong" but damnit, it wasn't as easy as it sounded! Her life was changing right before her eyes, her heart was speeding, her blood was pumping, her ears were ringing and for the first time in years Lin actually felt like she was fifty-two. And there was nothing she could do to stop any of it.

Lin stood with her back straight and opened her bright green eyes to stare at her reflection. Baggy eyes, two healed scars running down her right cheek, short graying hair, with one fine wrinkle under each eye.

"Spirits help me." She whispered. Her hand stretched out until she felt the soft, fuzziness of a white towel graze her fingertips. She snatched it up and brought it up to her face, completely ridding herself of the excess water on her skin and chest. Her eyes shied away from the mirror and stared at her clean floors.

"Calm down," she whispered, "nothing's going to change . . . that much. You'll still be chief, everything will be completely fine."

But she knew this was far from fine. Nothing will be the same and she would have to deal with it. Like a Beifong.


	3. Chapter 3

The ferry docked itself by the wooden planks of Air Temple Island. The blue waves cashed against the water transportation and occasionally made the small ferry rock side to side. Lin gripped her hand on the metallic railing of the small ship and grumbled. She hated traveling by boat and would often do everything in her power to avoid such a trip. The only time she would go was when it was absolutely necessary and her situation required some guidance. Not to mention Pema practically begged the chief to come over to witness how much Opal has been improving at her air bending skills. Su herself had even pleaded for her attendance. It was a good opportunity to seek for some answers.

When the captain gave her the go-ahead to climb off, Lin jumped onto the sturdy docks and placed a hand on her stomach over her metallic uniform to steady the churning fluids she was feeling. She breathed in and out very slowly and walked to the main building. No one was occupying the outer yards which made Lin believe the island's air benders were training out back or roaming inside.

That didn't matter at the moment as she just needed to talk to Su or Pema. Whoever she found first. Passing the vegetation gardens and Meelo's new pet lemur, Lin walked along the main hallway and walked passed a few closed doors. Everything seemed vacant and a bit too quite. After all, this place was filled with people and a couple of noisy kids with some pretty reckless teenagers. It's never this quite.

Just when the chief was stepping out to the back property a huge whirl wool of air nearly knocked Lin on her behind but she kept her feet grounded in place and she readied her cable wires. The wind momentarily blinded the older woman but once the wind was done and over with she took a fighting stance but it was immediately slackened. Tenzin and his whole family which included Kya and Bumi, along with Su, Opal and the Avatar (still in her wheelchair but shooting a small smile at Lin) along with her gang of friends and the rest of the island's air benders were all standing closely together with some of the most idiotic grins Lin has ever seen. And- wait . . . were those her police officers as well?

Spirits, how absent minded had she been to not even notice that some of her men weren't even at the station?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIN!" They yelled.

Lin's thin eyebrows knitted together as her jaw slackened to some degree. Her arms fell limp at her sides as she looked around the back yards. It was nicely decorated but not too extreme. A few streamers were hung here and there and lanterns were lit and scattered around the out skirts. There was a large table of food and sweets to the side with a few presents stacked on top of each other.

It was her birthday? Lin didn't remember her own birthday? Well, it's not the first time it's happened but she was always being reminded of the occasion by a few people or just by the date alone but she completely forgot about it this year. And who could blame her? With everything that's been going on with the city and her personal life, she's barely had enough time to even check up on her own sister.

Being in such an awkward situation, Lin stood stiff as a board with her arms hanging loosely and her eyes wide and confused. This wasn't what she wanted when she agreed to visit but she supposed that she should've suspected this from Su.

Lin's younger sister stepped forward from the crowd with her hands folded at her front and a look of astonishment on her face.

"Lin," She spoke in warning, "please tell me you didn't forget your own birthday."

The older woman said nothing in regards of Su's plea, instead she thanked everyone for remembering in the most mono toned voiced she had and dragged Su to the inside of the temple. The guests seemed a bit disappointed that they couldn't get much of a reaction out of Lin but they did expect something like this out of their chief of police. The longtime chief never liked to express her feelings.

"What's up with Beifong?" Mako asked as soon as the large crowd broke apart to enjoy some parts of the party. He and his friends stayed together as they tried to puzzle together the chief's behavior.

"Well," Korra softly spoke, "she's as tough as nails and isn't the most sensitive person. Su had to suspect this when she started to plan the party."

"At least she didn't go off on anybody with her metal cables." Bolin said. "_That _would've been bad."

X

"Lin, if you're trying to rip my arm off just for throwing you a party, you are succeeding!" Su yelled and tried to free her arm from her sister's grasp. She wasn't paying any attention as to where the eldest Beifong sister was dragging her off to because she more focused on the pain coming from her wrist.

It wasn't until they reached a balcony far away from the others when Lin finally released her hold on Su and began to walk further out to see the amazing view of her city. The city she was slowly losing bit from bit. Oh spirits, she was losing her own self. Her hands tightly held the wooden railing that separated her from the crash waves hundreds of feet below. Green eyes became pink with tears filling their vision. Lin quickly shut her lids and squeezed her eyes to not allow the damned tears to escape. Her lip quivered but she clamped her teeth down to stop the obnoxious habit. She'd be damned if anyone, including Su, saw her like this.

A gentle hand rested on top of Lin's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "Lin?" Su said. "Are you alright?"

Lin, in reply, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and gave a loud sniffle. She shook her head, making her greying locks move with her movement. "No," Lin said, trying to make her voice as clam and steady as possible. Su tilted her head and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

The chief breathed in and out heavily and turned to her younger sister. "I need some advice." Then Lin went on to tell about her problems and spill her very soul to the only person she felt that could help.

Su stared and didn't respond or even comment on what Lin said for the longest time. She stared with a blank look on her face. What could she say? She wanted to say some words to comfort her sister but what on earth was she supposed to say to something like this? Lin never mentioned anything about her situation before. So why was she saying anything about it now?

"Lin, why are you bringing this up?" Su asked.

"Because," Lin breathed in and out, "that very problem is coming to the city."


	4. Chapter 4

The loud whistles of the trains screamed with a cloud of smoke streaming out of its metallic jail. Hundreds of business men and tourists hustled throughout the train station. Some running to catch their ride or rush to collect their luggage. The sun beamed heavily on Republic City with blazing hot rays. Whether you were inside or out, the whole city felt like it was baking in an oven. Lin's metallic uniform strapped so tightly around her body certainly didn't help the chief's already boiling attitude.

It was too damn hot to be surrounded by so many people in the middle of a summer's day. She needed to get out of here soon or else she was going to have a heat stroke. When the hell was the 1:05 train coming? The chief grumbled under her breath and began to walk to the waiting lounge to make phone call.

She dialed the president's office number and asked if he was certain this was the exact station she was supposed to be at. He confirmed and told her to wait a bit longer. Lin hung up without any further word.

"_1:05 train has arrived. The 1:05 train has arrived. All passengers will depart at gate number eight."_ The intercom bellowed above everyone's heads. Lin sighed in relief and walked toward the gate and occasionally bumped into some rude man in an expensive looking suit. Once there, she waited with her arms crossed and one hip cocked out with her normal scowl. Soon enough the arriving train slowed to a stop and the train's engineer was the first to step out and lead its passengers out.

One by one every passenger stepped onto the concrete platform, all fanning themselves to try to cool their sweating faces. None of them were the person Lin had to wait for.

The harsh sun rays blasted even hotter onto the city and Lin began to regret ever wearing her uniform on such a hot day. It was her day off, for Spirit's sake! She picked at her collar and practically had to peel it away from her sweaty neck. She grimaced in disgust and huffed at her poor choice of wardrobe. Her eyes darted back to the departing area but was only met with another horde of business men stepping out.

Lin turned away for a moment to watch some casualties hug and kiss their loved ones. Though the chief of police couldn't see how they could so happy when they were practically drench in their sweat.

"Chief Beifong?"

Lin turned her head and was greeted by one of the business men who stepped onto the platform. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at the man. "Can I help you?" She asked.

The man nodded and pulled out a large case file from behind his back and handed them to Lin. "I'm Raiku Chang, the head of the Fire Kingdom's School for Delinquents. We spoke on the phone earlier this evening."

"Ah yes," Lin said, remembering their exact conversation. "You're the one who's supposed to bring her."

"Yes, and again, I apologize that we had to reunite the two of you in such sour terms."

"It's fine." Lin dismissed. "So, where is she, anyways?"

Raiku turned his back to Lin and called out to the distance. The man turned to her saying he would return in a moment. Lin was left in slight confusion for a few moments before having Raiku return with a young woman.

She was a teenager, barely looking old enough to be eighteen. She was on the short side, looking to be 5'4" with wavy black hair cascading down her back with bangs swept aside her face. Her eyes were shielded from the sun by a pair of dark glasses. The girl was wearing a pair of tight fitting black dress pants with a white t-shirt. A black jacket hung off her shoulders, a duffle bag was hanging off her left shoulder with her arm through the strap. The girl's black boots clicked on the concrete with every step she took. Her thin lips were clamped down on the butt of a lit cigarette that was already half way finished. It seemed stupid to be doing such a thing and wearing such dark colors in this kind heat. Well, at least to Lin it was.

Lin fought the urge to rub her temples. She hasn't even talked to the kid and yet the brat was already giving her a headache. This kid looked like the type of delinquent Lin had the displeasure of interviewing whenever a shop was vandalized or when someone was suspected of shoplifting. To be frank, she was referred as a bad kid just by looking at her.

_Lin's_ bad kid.

Raiku looked to the young woman with a warning look saying, "Behave". He turned back to the chief with a smile. It wasn't the kind of professional smile that she would get when meeting with someone from the council. It was more like an apologetic smile or one filled with sympathy. It worried her because it only raised her suspicion about the kid. With one final bow, Raiku said his goodbyes and parted ways with the two women.

Not one minute after he left, Lin and her kid were having a glaring contest, string into one another's soul with the exact same scowl. The teen removed her sunglasses and hung them on the collar of her t-shirt. Her golden orange eyes glowed and hardened at Lin with a strong irritation. _Well, at least I know she got one thing from me, _Lin thought. But it wasn't true and she knew it.

Her daughter had inherited Lin's once midnight black hair (though even when the chief of police was younger, she would never allow her hair to grow as long as the kid's) and Lin's indecisive lips that were currently pulled down by the scowl. In a way, the teen somewhat resembled Toph Beifong but a lot less muscle and a lot more attitude.

Lin was the first to speak as she was growing tired of this little game. "Your eyes changed color. They were green when the last time I saw you."

The teen raised a thin, dark eyebrow and softened her glare by a small percentage. "Really? I'm surprised you even remembered you had a daughter." She hissed, taking a long drag from her cigarette and blowing it in Lin's face.

Lin didn't know what caused her to do her next actions, maybe it was the fact that she was in front of her now teenaged daughter for the first time in years or the fact that she was reminded that she was a mother, but even her next moves were considered _'gentle' _by the people who personally knew the police woman.

When the smoke hit Lin's skin, she fanned it away with her hand and sent a metal cable towards her daughter's mouth. Rather than hitting any spot on the teen's face, the cable latched itself around the cigarette by Lin's command and pulled it right out of the girl's mouth. Tobacco spewed about the concrete ground with some specks landing on Lin's metal boots.

"I don't know how much you smoked back at the Fire Kingdom but try to cut down to a few packs a day, will you?" Lin retrieved her cable and stared at her daughter with the same glare as before.

The teen shined her surprisingly white teeth at her mother in a sickeningly sweet smile. "Whatever you say, _mom_," she said, crossing her arms. "Or should I just call you 'Lin'? After all, you've never been much of a mother to me."

"We're not talking about this here." Lin hissed. She stepped aside and tilted her head in one motion. "C'mon, you've got some people to meet."

"Who says I'm-?"

"Just get moving, I'm not giving you any special treatment just because you're my kid." The police woman grabbed the teen's shoulder and pulled her toward the inside of the train station. But instead of walking like Lin wanted, her daughter just clenched her duffle bag tighter and stopped just a few feet prior to where the chief of police stood.

"Mei-Lien," The girl said.

"What?"

"My name is Mei-Lien. Y'know, the name _you_ gave me?" The turned her head to glance at Lin over her shoulder before she walked to the exit. Lin raised one eyebrow and scoffed.

"The kid's got guts, I'll give her that." She mumbled to herself before she followed Mei-Lien outside toward the parking lot.


End file.
